Orange County Produce, LLC
Voluntarily Recalls Bell Peppers
Orange
County Produce, LLC (OC Produce) is voluntarily working with the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to
coordinate a recall of fresh red and green Bell Peppers for potential Salmonella
contamination. The FDA has advised that a random sample of OC Produce Bell
peppers has tested positive for Salmonella.
The
product is typically sold to retail, food service, and farmer's market level in
bulk weight and has no retail packaging associated with it. All retail
suppliers that received these affected lots have been notified and were
directed to immediately remove and destroy any remaining product in their
inventories.
This
recall was the result of a random sampling event on September 25, 2013 by the
USDA which revealed the presence of Salmonella on some of the product. OC
Produce's recall and traceability program enabled the company to quickly
identify the company field and harvest dates of the affected product, which
originated in Southern California.
The
red and green Bell Pepper recall is limited to 3 lots (Lot # SB 7 920, 923,
924) containing 1,208 25# cartons of peppers. The source of the contamination
is unknown. The lots were distributed to farmer's markets and wholesale food
service within Southern California between September 21 and September 24, 2013.
No illnesses have been reported to date. Other than the red and green
Bell peppers described above, no other OC Produce product has been affected by
this recall.
OC
Produce has ceased the distribution and harvest of product from the implicated
field while the FDA, the California Department of Public Health and the company
continue their investigation into the source of the contamination.
In
a statement by Orange County Produce, OC Produce “is proud of its longstanding
reputation for safety and quality throughout its operations and has taken
immediate precautionary measures to protect public health by issuing this
voluntary recall and removing product from the market. OC Produce takes its
food safety responsibilities very seriously and is working diligently to
investigate and prevent any further occurrence.”
Consumers
who purchased the above described Bell peppers between the dates of September
21 and October 5, 2013 should contact the store, restaurant or farmers market
from where they purchased the product and inquire as to whether the affected
product was sold by that store, restaurant or farmers market location. If so,
the customer should discard or return any unused product to that store for a
refund.
Labels: Bell PEPPER recall, california bell pepper recall, LLC Voluntary Recall, OC PRODUCE, ORANGE COUNTY Produce
The
product is typically sold to retail, food service, and farmer's market level in
bulk weight and has no retail packaging associated with it. All retail
suppliers that received these affected lots have been notified and were
directed to immediately remove and destroy any remaining product in their
inventories.